My neighbours garden is higher than mine and one of their trees over-hangs my house, with lots of leaves falling onto my roof and gutter.

Does anybody know where I stand with regards to getting them to cut the tree back away from my property?

if they wont cut it you have a right to cut what is on your property but apparantly you have to give it back to them

Lint is right, but I would think that the best thing is to go around and have a chat. It's unlikely that they will know you think you have a problem.

If you are in a conservation area or the trees have Tree Preservation Orders you can't touch them without permission from the Planning Department too. You can be prosecuted for pruning.

If you have leaves on the roof it's a good idea to fit a leaf guard to the gutters to stop them getting blocked in any case, as leaves have a habit of falling sideways :)

I wouldn't just go around cutting bits off other peoples trees without chatting to them first though - it might earn you a slap in the chops :)

My Dad used to have some horrible and extremely weird neighbours, who planted a hedge of leylandii trees along the garden fence, which caused his lawn to die, as the roots take all the moisture for a few feet either side.

Anyhow he was advised that he cut cut the trees and throw the cuttings over to their side for them to clear up. He used to trim his side and put all that into his bin, but when he cut the tops down so they were only 6 feet high [ or whatever the height was ] he would throw all that over onto their path for them to chuck away. And they never said anything.

you could have had a bonfire near the tree ooooops

It's trespassing on your property so if they don't do anything about it when you ask you can apply to the courts who can make them do something about it.

A nice dose of diesel fuel on your side of the fence will do the trick :D

chop anything down that crosses the boundary. you are at liberty to do so - unless there is a preservation order on the tree(uncommon).
you can return them to the neighbour if you wish but dont have too.
you cannot access thei land to trim their side of the trees, however they have an obligation to grant you access to maintain your property from their land, which could include chopping their overhanging tree .

Thanks for the advice.

I would have to gain access to their land to cut the branches that overhang my house as it is very high up. Some branches are growing very close to my chimney.
So, I will ask them to cut it back, see how that goes down.